English/Language Arts
Explore Lead Sentences - starting with a list
We’ve looked at a lot of lead sentences and opening paragraphs this year - the multiple ways to hook your reader - but it’s time to look again. Author Swanson has given us an opening list. No - make that TWO opening lists, before asking her reader a question. Have your students do a close read, then look in their journals and try re-writing an opening by hitting their reader with a high-interest list. A list supplies a reader with context and structure right out of the gate - a great way to increase a reader’s comprehension and engagement. SCORE!
Social Studies
Explore Ancient Greece - the Olympics
The opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games airs on February 8th, 2018. Every Olympic games gives us an opportunity to revisit the site of the original Games in ancient Greece. Take your students back to the beginning as they enjoy the present games. Do some charting of current events versus past events and medals won by countries participating. Get out the globe and take a spin. Enjoy the global competition.
STEM
Explore nanotechnology
Nanotechnology deals with the very, very small, but the world of nanotechnology is BIG. Help your students understand this rapidly developing field by checking out the National Nanotechnology Initiative’s bank of resources for teachers and K-12 students.
Explore materials engineering and nanofibers
Have your students dig a little deeper into this word of nanotechnology and nanofibers. While Author Swanson highlights their use in athletic clothing and equipment, the scope of use extends far beyond, to medical and construction applications and more. Have them search Science Daily for the latest headlines on nanofibers. What is the relationship between nanofibers and a 3D printer? Can we actually print these textiles?
Explore sports science
Connecting sports to science will wake up your students’ understanding of the possibilities of science in every aspect of their lives. Start by table talking where and how science might be involved in sporting events. Pull the ideas offered in this Minute as a starting place and then have students think beyond.
Explore physics - force, friction and speed
Use this Minute to reinforce these physics forces. Set up some experiments to demonstrate the strength of friction. Try the phone book experiment. First place one book on top of another and try to pull them apart. No problem - not much friction there. Now interlace pages of two phone books (or old encyclopedias) together and try to pull them apart. Bet you can’t (see Mythbusters if kids want to know just how much force it takes). Now finish the conversation and transfer the learning - how can this knowledge about friction help (or hurt) athletes?
Health & Wellness
Explore sports equipment - safety and performance
Use this Minute as a start to an exploration of the connection between science and safety in the sporting world. What are the dangers in playing a sport? How can science minimize those dangers? How has safety equipment changed over time to make athletes less injury-prone? Author Swanson talks about fabric, but students can extend this discussion to helmets, playing surfaces, equipment, training facilities and beyond.
Research Skills
Explore communicating findings
This Minute is rich with ideas that students will want to explore. Use the their curiosity to have them brainstorm questions they want answered. Lots of questions and lots of answers are great, but how do we organize them in order to communicate our information effectively with others? Have students explore some communication and presentation tools like Canva, Smore, Sway, Prezi or more and make a decision about the best way to organize and communicate their findings. This can be a low-tech project too - posters, pamphlets, booklets, and pictures also work as great communication tools. Make sure you ask students to explain the reasons behind their chosen communication medium.
Explore Lead Sentences - starting with a list
We’ve looked at a lot of lead sentences and opening paragraphs this year - the multiple ways to hook your reader - but it’s time to look again. Author Swanson has given us an opening list. No - make that TWO opening lists, before asking her reader a question. Have your students do a close read, then look in their journals and try re-writing an opening by hitting their reader with a high-interest list. A list supplies a reader with context and structure right out of the gate - a great way to increase a reader’s comprehension and engagement. SCORE!
Social Studies
Explore Ancient Greece - the Olympics
The opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games airs on February 8th, 2018. Every Olympic games gives us an opportunity to revisit the site of the original Games in ancient Greece. Take your students back to the beginning as they enjoy the present games. Do some charting of current events versus past events and medals won by countries participating. Get out the globe and take a spin. Enjoy the global competition.
STEM
Explore nanotechnology
Nanotechnology deals with the very, very small, but the world of nanotechnology is BIG. Help your students understand this rapidly developing field by checking out the National Nanotechnology Initiative’s bank of resources for teachers and K-12 students.
Explore materials engineering and nanofibers
Have your students dig a little deeper into this word of nanotechnology and nanofibers. While Author Swanson highlights their use in athletic clothing and equipment, the scope of use extends far beyond, to medical and construction applications and more. Have them search Science Daily for the latest headlines on nanofibers. What is the relationship between nanofibers and a 3D printer? Can we actually print these textiles?
Explore sports science
Connecting sports to science will wake up your students’ understanding of the possibilities of science in every aspect of their lives. Start by table talking where and how science might be involved in sporting events. Pull the ideas offered in this Minute as a starting place and then have students think beyond.
Explore physics - force, friction and speed
Use this Minute to reinforce these physics forces. Set up some experiments to demonstrate the strength of friction. Try the phone book experiment. First place one book on top of another and try to pull them apart. No problem - not much friction there. Now interlace pages of two phone books (or old encyclopedias) together and try to pull them apart. Bet you can’t (see Mythbusters if kids want to know just how much force it takes). Now finish the conversation and transfer the learning - how can this knowledge about friction help (or hurt) athletes?
Health & Wellness
Explore sports equipment - safety and performance
Use this Minute as a start to an exploration of the connection between science and safety in the sporting world. What are the dangers in playing a sport? How can science minimize those dangers? How has safety equipment changed over time to make athletes less injury-prone? Author Swanson talks about fabric, but students can extend this discussion to helmets, playing surfaces, equipment, training facilities and beyond.
Research Skills
Explore communicating findings
This Minute is rich with ideas that students will want to explore. Use the their curiosity to have them brainstorm questions they want answered. Lots of questions and lots of answers are great, but how do we organize them in order to communicate our information effectively with others? Have students explore some communication and presentation tools like Canva, Smore, Sway, Prezi or more and make a decision about the best way to organize and communicate their findings. This can be a low-tech project too - posters, pamphlets, booklets, and pictures also work as great communication tools. Make sure you ask students to explain the reasons behind their chosen communication medium.
© Karen Sterling, 2018 - May be used for educational purposes without written permission